thick ankles

torsaer

another question from me - I have always had thick ankles and calves, and notice at night time that my ankles look puffy and 'fat'. Is this a food thing too? Or just gravity taking its toll in the day.. Would low carb high fat help with this - has anyone had experience of this?

tcunbeliever

sounds like water retention...low carb tends to cause most people to shed retained water, but it's an average not a guarantee

mmultanen

I know a lot of women who do not like their calves and ankles at all. The women are all shapes and sizes and only 1 of them caries a significant amount of weight. Your body type is your body type. Diet and exercise can help modify things for sure.

If you have edema (which can range from mild to very serious, life threatening swelling) you can treat the the underlying cause. Edema can be caused by estrogen and testosterone imbalance. It's been years so my recall isn't great, but Insulin build up in the body blocks estrogen so it's possible that a low carb diet which helps to get your insulin production under control could help with your swelling if the cause is hormonal imbalance.

hmikkola92

I had HUGE cankles before I started this. Even when I was slim before but was still eating like everyone else I had this issue. I never wore anything but pants. Now I've noticed my ankles look normal, after 2 months of keto.

tierrafuego

I think it is very related to diet and LCHF can absolutely reduce ankle size, both in the short-term and in the longer. LCHF is going to get rid of the constant bloat that carbs bring on. I carry a lot of excess water when I'm not eating LC and it shows up first and foremost in my ankles (especially at night). When I go LC, I see it go away (quickly). Longer term, dropping weight has made my ankles slimmer with the loss of weight everywhere, particularly in lower legs, ankles and feet. Between the two of these, I've noticed that LCHF has made me drop a shoe size. I think that's all about 1) bloat and 2) fat loss. Good luck!

Sunny_Bunny_

Is the puffiness at night new or has it always happened?

torsaer

It's pretty much always happened at night time - I think the effect of gravity but I'm so interested that people have had success in reducing their 'cankles' with LCHF. Need to drop some fat so hoping some of that will come off the cankle area!!

KnitOrMiss

Swelling in the legs, particularly at night, is also a red flag to get a full thyroid workup done. And not just a TSH test. Both my PCP and my Endo had a field day when I mentioned in passing that I was getting some swelling in my legs, and it was worse at night. They told me that if that happened, I likely needed an adjustment in my thyroid medication, and that the majority of people with edema have fluid transfer system issues or thyroid problems. Apparently edema associated with heart problems, with rare exception, takes years to develop.

It doesn't mean that it IS a thyroid issue, just that a thyroid panel (TSH, Total and Free T4, Free and Reverse T3 - at a minimum) should be run. There are other related deficiencies that contribute, but this is the core set of tests I personally find that give a good overall picture of thyroid health. Remember, too, that there are massive differences between the acceptable lab ranges - and optimal function ranges...

I've not heard of other hormonal triggers, but considering how interrelated endocrine and hormonal issues are, it would not surprise me in the slightest!

KnitOrMiss

But my wrists went from 8.75" around to 7" or just a smidge less just from reduction in inflammation. I used to have to wear anklets for bracelets and necklaces for anklets, etc. Going low carb reduced that inflammation so much, I hadn't even realized it. I remember laughing with near shock as I discovered relatively normal sized wrists and ankles, nearly by accident! LOL

(To my understanding, the inflammation I suffered from previously was nearly all sugar and grain based. I feel discomfort up to actual pain level in my joints when I over-consume one or the other now.)